Three Potential Wrestlemania Opponents for Daniel Bryan

After two years of being left on the shelf by the WWE doctors, Daniel Bryan has been cleared to return to the squared circle. The WWE announced it on their website earlier on Tuesday, with the mainstream media picking it up and running a marathon with the news. Bryan has had a storied career during his time in the WWE, as a wrestler and as the General Manager of SmackDown, which leaves a few opponents if he wrestles on the “Grandest Stage of them All”. There are dream matches coming out of both rosters, but these three superstars stand out as the most likely.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

I am going to lump these two together, because according to WrestlingInc.com, the plan at the time of writing is a tag match between McMahon/Bryan and Zayn/Owens.

Those who have focused purely on the WWE may not understand the popularity of this match, but the fans of the independent scene of the wrestling world would be frothing at the mouth over this one. El Generico against The American Dragon would be labeled as two of the largest stars from the independent scene, in the 2000’s, facing off at Wrestlemania.

Kevin Owens is another one of the internet darlings who made a huge name for himself on the independent scene, teaming with the Young Bucks, as well as emerging as a brilliant singles wrestler. Owens and Zayn attacked Daniel Bryan at the end of SmackDown, setting the build for a possible tag match. You could go a multitude of ways with these two, and while it is the most likely match to happen, there are still a few other alternative options.

Shane McMahon

Quite a few in the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) want to see McMahon and Bryan go at it for the right to run SmackDown. There has always been a teasing moment or two between the Commissioner and the General Manager of the blue brand, more recently with the emergence of Owens and Zayn as a team. Bryan came out and stated that he was on their side when it came to them and Shane, which puts McMahon right at odds with Bryan.

Nothing is written off in the WWE, and plans can change at any minute. This doesn’t have the appeal that the next match has, but the fans would prefer to see this over the previously mentioned tag match. It is very rare that the WWE actually listens to the fans, but this could be one of those times that they do. It would also set up an intriguing story between the McMahon family and Bryan, leading to a potential McMahon family vs Bryan and Bella tag match. Call it fantasy booking, but the option is there. It still does not come close to the appeal of the next match though…

Shinsuke Nakamura

The minute that AJ Styles went down with an ankle injury during a live event at Madison Square Garden, fans were fantasizing over a potential Bryan vs Nakamura dream match. These are two wrestlers who have claims to being the best current fighter, and meeting at Wrestlemania would send the IWC absolutely nuts.

Nakamura and his Kinshasa against Bryan and the Running Knee? The King of Strong Style against the leader of the “YES! Movement?” New Japan Pro Wrestling against Ring Of Honor? Does anything else need to be said?

This is the most unlikely of the three, considering that Nakamura has his date with destiny against AJ Styles. It also seems that Styles will be good to go for the show in New Orleans, with Cageside Seats reporting that Styles was cleared to compete. Still, we can all dream.

Photo Credit – Metro.com